diff --git a/web/src/components/RequireAuth.tsx b/web/src/components/RequireAuth.tsx
index d0143e9..1349d8a 100644
--- a/web/src/components/RequireAuth.tsx
+++ b/web/src/components/RequireAuth.tsx
@@ -1,11 +1,12 @@
 import { Navigate, Outlet, useLocation } from "react-router-dom"
 
-import { loadSession } from "@/lib/auth"
+import { loadSession, saveLoginReturnFrom } from "@/lib/auth"
 
 export function RequireAuth() {
   const location = useLocation()
   const session = loadSession()
   if (!session) {
+    saveLoginReturnFrom(location)
     return <Navigate to="/auth/login" state={{ from: location }} replace />
   }
   return <Outlet />
diff --git a/web/src/lib/auth.ts b/web/src/lib/auth.ts
index cf76f8d..a24312a 100644
--- a/web/src/lib/auth.ts
+++ b/web/src/lib/auth.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,64 @@ import { useQuery, useQueryClient } from "@tanstack/react-query"
 import { api } from "@/lib/api"
 
 const SESSION_KEY = "sentinel_session"
+const LOGIN_RETURN_TO_KEY = "sentinel_login_return_to"
+
+function isSafeReturnTo(path: string): boolean {
+  return path.startsWith("/") && !path.startsWith("//")
+}
+
+// The pre-login path (e.g. /oauth/authorize?…&redirect_uri=…) has to outlive
+// the bounce to /auth/login. React Router location.state is dropped on the
+// initial history.replace, a refresh, and the Discord round-trip — so both
+// email and Discord login were landing back on a stripped authorize URL.
+export function saveLoginReturnTo(path: string) {
+  if (!isSafeReturnTo(path) || path === "/") return
+  const existing = sessionStorage.getItem(LOGIN_RETURN_TO_KEY)
+  // Don't clobber a full authorize URL with a pathname-only bounce.
+  if (existing && existing.includes("?") && !path.includes("?")) return
+  sessionStorage.setItem(LOGIN_RETURN_TO_KEY, path)
+}
+
+export function saveLoginReturnFrom(location: {
+  pathname: string
+  search?: string
+  hash?: string
+}) {
+  let path = `${location.pathname}${location.search ?? ""}${location.hash ?? ""}`
+  // On first load RR can report an empty search while the address bar still
+  // has ?client_id=…&redirect_uri=…. Prefer the bar when pathnames match.
+  if (
+    !path.includes("?") &&
+    window.location.search &&
+    window.location.pathname === location.pathname
+  ) {
+    path = `${window.location.pathname}${window.location.search}${window.location.hash}`
+  }
+  saveLoginReturnTo(path)
+}
+
+export function peekLoginReturnTo(): string | null {
+  const raw = sessionStorage.getItem(LOGIN_RETURN_TO_KEY)
+  if (!raw || !isSafeReturnTo(raw)) return null
+  return raw
+}
+
+export function consumeLoginReturnTo(): string {
+  const value = peekLoginReturnTo() ?? "/"
+  sessionStorage.removeItem(LOGIN_RETURN_TO_KEY)
+  return value
+}
+
+export type ReturnLocation = { pathname: string; search: string; hash: string }
+
+export function locationFromReturnPath(path: string): ReturnLocation {
+  const url = new URL(isSafeReturnTo(path) ? path : "/", window.location.origin)
+  return { pathname: url.pathname, search: url.search, hash: url.hash }
+}
+
+export function consumeLoginReturnLocation(): ReturnLocation {
+  return locationFromReturnPath(consumeLoginReturnTo())
+}
 
 export type Session = {
   accessToken: string
diff --git a/web/src/pages/auth/LoginDiscordPage.tsx b/web/src/pages/auth/LoginDiscordPage.tsx
index c7866ca..1dfffd3 100644
--- a/web/src/pages/auth/LoginDiscordPage.tsx
+++ b/web/src/pages/auth/LoginDiscordPage.tsx
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import { OutlineButton } from "@/components/OutlineButton"
 import { SuccessCheck } from "@/components/SuccessCheck"
 import { DiscordIcon } from "@/components/icons/socials"
 import { api } from "@/lib/api"
-import { saveSession } from "@/lib/auth"
+import { consumeLoginReturnLocation, saveSession } from "@/lib/auth"
 import { DISCORD_INVITE_URL } from "@/lib/links"
 import { cn } from "@/lib/utils"
 
@@ -52,8 +52,6 @@ export default function LoginDiscordPage() {
       navigate("/auth/login", { replace: true })
       return
     }
-    const returnTo = params.get("state") || "/"
-
     void (async () => {
       try {
         const res = await api.post<LoginResponse>(
@@ -65,14 +63,15 @@ export default function LoginDiscordPage() {
           expiresIn: res.data.expires_in,
           entityId: res.data.entity_id,
         })
+        const dest = consumeLoginReturnLocation()
         setTransitioning(true)
         await new Promise((r) =>
           setTimeout(r, CONVERGE_MS + CHECKMARK_DRAW_MS + HOLD_MS),
         )
         if (document.startViewTransition) {
-          document.startViewTransition(() => navigate(returnTo, { replace: true }))
+          document.startViewTransition(() => navigate(dest, { replace: true }))
         } else {
-          navigate(returnTo, { replace: true })
+          navigate(dest, { replace: true })
         }
       } catch (err: unknown) {
         const body =
diff --git a/web/src/pages/auth/LoginPage.tsx b/web/src/pages/auth/LoginPage.tsx
index ca2d208..ceda4a2 100644
--- a/web/src/pages/auth/LoginPage.tsx
+++ b/web/src/pages/auth/LoginPage.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { Loader2 } from "lucide-react"
 import type { ComponentType, SVGProps } from "react"
-import { useState } from "react"
+import { useEffect, useState } from "react"
 import { useLocation, useNavigate, useSearchParams } from "react-router-dom"
 import { toast } from "sonner"
 
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button"
 import { Input } from "@/components/ui/input"
 import { Label } from "@/components/ui/label"
 import { api } from "@/lib/api"
-import { saveSession } from "@/lib/auth"
+import { consumeLoginReturnTo, locationFromReturnPath, peekLoginReturnTo, saveLoginReturnTo, saveSession } from "@/lib/auth"
 import { DISCORD_INVITE_URL } from "@/lib/links"
 import { cn } from "@/lib/utils"
 
@@ -61,23 +61,28 @@ export default function LoginPage() {
   const [params] = useSearchParams()
   const arrivedFromOnboarding = params.has("email")
   // Reconstruct the full pre-login URL — pathname alone drops OAuth query
-  // params (?client_id=…&redirect_uri=…&scope=…) and the hash, so a 3rd-party
-  // app that bounces an unauthenticated user through /auth/login was landing
-  // back at /oauth/authorize stripped down to "Invalid request."
+  // params (?client_id=…&redirect_uri=…&scope=…) and the hash.
+  // sessionStorage is the source of truth: location.state does not survive
+  // the unauthenticated bounce, a refresh, or Discord.
   const fromLocation = (
     location.state as {
       from?: { pathname: string; search?: string; hash?: string }
     } | null
   )?.from
-  const from = fromLocation
+  const fromRouter = fromLocation
     ? `${fromLocation.pathname}${fromLocation.search ?? ""}${fromLocation.hash ?? ""}`
-    : "/"
+    : null
+  const from = fromRouter && fromRouter !== "/" ? fromRouter : (peekLoginReturnTo() ?? "/")
   const [email, setEmail] = useState(params.get("email") ?? "")
   const [password, setPassword] = useState("")
   const [loading, setLoading] = useState<LoadingTarget>(null)
   const [transitioning, setTransitioning] = useState(false)
   const isBusy = loading !== null || transitioning
 
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (fromRouter) saveLoginReturnTo(fromRouter)
+  }, [fromRouter])
+
   async function handleSuccess() {
     setLoading(null)
     setTransitioning(true)
@@ -85,10 +90,12 @@ export default function LoginPage() {
     await new Promise((resolve) =>
       setTimeout(resolve, CONVERGE_MS + CHECKMARK_DRAW_MS + HOLD_MS),
     )
+    const stored = consumeLoginReturnTo()
+    const dest = locationFromReturnPath(stored !== "/" ? stored : from)
     if (document.startViewTransition) {
-      document.startViewTransition(() => navigate(from, { replace: true }))
+      document.startViewTransition(() => navigate(dest, { replace: true }))
     } else {
-      navigate(from, { replace: true })
+      navigate(dest, { replace: true })
     }
   }
 
@@ -125,6 +132,7 @@ export default function LoginPage() {
       // The redirect_uri must byte-match what the oauth service uses at
       // token-exchange time. Building it from window.location.origin keeps
       // dev/prod aligned without another env var on the web side.
+      saveLoginReturnTo(from)
       const params = new URLSearchParams({
         client_id: DISCORD_CLIENT_ID,
         response_type: "code",
@@ -134,9 +142,6 @@ export default function LoginPage() {
         // still see it (Discord ignores prompt=none until consent is on file
         // for the requested scopes); subsequent sign-ins go straight back.
         prompt: "none",
-        // Round-trip the return path so the callback can land the user
-        // back where they were trying to go before being bounced to login.
-        state: from,
       })
       window.location.href = `${DISCORD_AUTHORIZE_URL}?${params.toString()}`
       return
diff --git a/web/src/pages/oauth/AuthorizePage.tsx b/web/src/pages/oauth/AuthorizePage.tsx
index 885b73c..77dd8f0 100644
--- a/web/src/pages/oauth/AuthorizePage.tsx
+++ b/web/src/pages/oauth/AuthorizePage.tsx
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import { SuccessCheck } from "@/components/SuccessCheck"
 import { Avatar, AvatarFallback, AvatarImage } from "@/components/ui/avatar"
 import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button"
 import { api } from "@/lib/api"
-import { loadSession, useAuth } from "@/lib/auth"
+import { loadSession, saveLoginReturnFrom, useAuth } from "@/lib/auth"
 import { resolveScopes } from "@/lib/scopes"
 import { cn } from "@/lib/utils"
 
@@ -189,6 +189,7 @@ export default function AuthorizePage() {
   }, [validate.data?.prompt])
 
   if (!session) {
+    saveLoginReturnFrom(location)
     return <Navigate to="/auth/login" state={{ from: location }} replace />
   }
 
diff --git a/web/src/pages/saml/SamlAuthorizePage.tsx b/web/src/pages/saml/SamlAuthorizePage.tsx
index a43785c..c7211a3 100644
--- a/web/src/pages/saml/SamlAuthorizePage.tsx
+++ b/web/src/pages/saml/SamlAuthorizePage.tsx
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import { SuccessCheck } from "@/components/SuccessCheck"
 import { Avatar, AvatarFallback, AvatarImage } from "@/components/ui/avatar"
 import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button"
 import { api } from "@/lib/api"
-import { loadSession, useAuth } from "@/lib/auth"
+import { loadSession, saveLoginReturnFrom, useAuth } from "@/lib/auth"
 import { cn } from "@/lib/utils"
 
 const CONVERGE_MS = 250
@@ -154,6 +154,7 @@ export default function SamlAuthorizePage() {
   }
 
   if (!session) {
+    saveLoginReturnFrom(location)
     return <Navigate to="/auth/login" state={{ from: location }} replace />
   }